5 Chapter Five

'Take the lady inside and get the herbalist now!' the chieftain bellowed to no one in particular. 'Katum, Wahush,' he called their names coldly, before he turned and stumped angrily into the meeting hut.

Katum hurried after his cousin while Wahush stood by the carriage shocked by the sound slap he received from the unconscious woman.

'Where is Wahush?' He asked Katum as he sat on a stool.

'I'll go call him,' Katum offered before going out to bring Wahush with him.

'Wahush, the chief wants to see us now.' Katum grip Wahush shoulder shaking him. 'Oh! Let us go," he said.

They rushed to the hut knowing they will surely face the consequences if they waste more time letting the chieftain wait than it was necessary. On arrival, they prostrated, greeting him as tradition demanded.

'Rise,' he said in a stern voice.

'Thank you our Chief.' They said in unison.

'Where is my money?' He demanded of them, his patience wearing thin.

'Here they are,' Wahush handed a bag made of animal skin to the chief and Katum began to state the names of those that each wrapped cowries belonged to.

'The cowries wrapped in the palm frond is for Akande the farmer, the one in the white colored cloth is for Kenonu, that wrapped in the leopard skin is for Alashe,....And finally, the one in the metal box belong to Shakur the blacksmith from Ogidi,' he said breathing in deeply.

'Good to hear that,' the chieftain said to them checking all the cowries to make sure they were complete.

Due to the ice-cold expression and concentration the chieftain wore, made Wahush cleared his throat before he hesitantly said, 'the blacksmith wasn't able to pay in full and because of that his...'

'What? After giving the fool an entire season to pay me, what does he take me for, his saving pot?' He shouted, interrupting Wahush. Since money was something, he loves beside his dear life, hearing such news made him furious.

The muscle in his jaw tightened, 'I swear, he is going to pay every single remaining cowries in the worst possible ways,' he said fuming. 'Where is he?' He asked through clenched teeth, his eyes blazing with fury. He looked down at them like a hawk daring them to say any negative sentence, making both Katum and Wahush to flinch away from him. He hates it when debtors refuse to pay him his hard earned money after giving them enough time to pay their debt.

'He wasn't able to come with us...'

'Not a word from your mouth,' he warned dangerously, 'are you trying to tell me he was too big and heavy for you two to drag him here? I expect you to bring him here since he couldn't pay up on time. I don't care if he is crippled, sick, blind or not.' He pelted the stool he sat on towards them. 'I thought you both will do better when I paired you up, but I'm very much mistaken,'

'Forgive us for our incompetence but we brought his daughter with us as regards to the condition you laid out for him last season when you added a complete season for him to pay his debt, my Chief.' Katum said, wanting to save their head as they stood looking at their chieftain shaking with rage.

'The unconscious thing you brought with you was his daughter?'

'Yes my Chief,' Katum answered him courtly not to fuel the chieftain's anger.

'What do you want me to do with a female? She is nothing but a weakling, can you two not see? After a few days' journey from Ogidi to here, she fainted. Tell me what kind of work do you want me to give such a lazy and weak human to do?' He growled at them, now very furious knowing it was his fault for putting such a condition in the first place.

'I promise she's different from the other women. Give her a chance please, I'm sure she will not disappoint.'

'Leave!' He ordered angrily.

While he was looked upon as a ruthless man by the village folks when it comes to punishment and other things, he cannot ask the females to do hard labor meant for men. Besides he sees women as weak, problematic and dependent, which presently makes him dread the possibility of the blacksmith's daughter doing the various work he may assign to her.

'I cannot believe this, what kind of a Father will allow his female child come all the way here in the company of male strangers? I thought the fool had a male child not the other way round. How will a female do the work I assign to the men? They are just all the same-weak, nevertheless she will work for every penny the fool owes me.' He thought aloud, pacing the hut.

Still pacing, his mouth stretched into what was akin to a smile, thinking about the priceless expression of shock and shame on Wahush face when the young woman slapped him as he registered the 'what and oh!' That came from those around.

She must be different because no woman dares to look at Wahush the wrong way not to talk more of slapping him. She has got gall, I'll give her credit for how hard she slapped him leaving her fingers printed on his cheeks just because he tried helping her from the carriage but such a disrespectful behavior will not be overlooked, she will surely not go unpunished for that since her Mama fails to teach her an iota of res…

'My chief, your Father requested your presence in his hut,' a servant interrupted his thought.

'Go, I'll be on my way,' he said coldly, making the servant boy turn to leave quickly but fell face down in his attempt to escape from the hut.

******

'I pray the old man has something good and important to say this time around rather than talking about seeing his grandchildren before joining our forefathers," he grumbled to himself as he walked the short distance to his Father's hut.

'Greetings to you Father,' he prostrated, greeting his Father on reaching the hut.

'Greetings to you son, rise and make yourself comfortable.' The old man beckoned him to the mat he was sitting on.

'You sent for me, hope there is no problem Father?'

'Must there be a problem before a Father asks for his son to see him?' The old man asked.

'I don't mean it that way, forgive me Father.'

His father waved him dismissively. 'How are you and our people? Hope you're keeping them happy at all times," he enquired.

'Fine Father and certainly they are happy because no one is complaining or questioning my leadership for now and I'm very sure they're not starting anytime soon.' The chieftain said taking a kola nut from a nearby bowl, cracking it into two and offering his Father half of the kola.

Taking the kola, he chuckled, shaking his head, 'says the man who scares the people around him to death with just a look.'

'Iron hand approach seems to work best with the village folks,' he stated nonchalantly.

'That will only lead to you not knowing your people well from their facade of pleasing the high and mighty chieftain, you'll never come to know their problems until it is too late if you do not stop now.'

'Father, I don't think I'm blind to my people's problems because I work with them to boost their morale whenever I am not settling disputes and I won't like them to start showing signs of weakness and laziness now.'

'All I am saying is for you to go a little easy on them, they are terrified of you son.'

The chieftain snorted in disgust, 'they require more discipline not less and I don't know why you are suggesting a thing like that when you know I'll do no such thing as going easy on them.'

'You may find a woman you will come to like my son.'

Now angry at the odd direction the conversation had headed, he forced a smile and stood up to leave. 'It was nice speaking to you this evening but I'll like to take my leave if you don't mind, I've things that need my attention Father,' he said.

The chieftain hates it whenever his Father brings up the issue of taking a wife when they exchange friendly barter like today. He only appears to be caring, vibrant and kind, devoid of his usual harshness, non-talkative and inscrutable manners when he was with his father and Katum but it seems to be difficult nowadays when all they do was disturb him with the talks of having a woman at his side.

'Fashade, you cannot avoid taking a wife forever, all what I'm asking is to see my grandchildren before I join my ancestors." His Father said, making him stop in his tracks.

He clenched his fists in anger and spat out icily, 'We have talked about this Father.'

'Don't take that tone with me son,' his father said in a stern warning. 'I wonder what your mother will do knowing her son wants to take a disrespectful woman as a wife, a girl that will question anything he says and do without regard instead of worshipping the ground her son walks on.'

'How do you know that father? When there is no such woman in my life. I'll marry when I find the woman worthy of my care and attention, period!" He stumped off, leaving his father in his hut.

Fashade walked fast, ignoring the village folks moving up and down, his blood boiling. He did not slow his stride until he reached the forest surrounding the village. He needed to get away to calm himself and his favorite spot- the lake in the woods was the perfect place to do just that. The lake was deep in the woods, hidden from the prying eyes of the folks, surrounded by evergreen trees and wildlife. This is the only place he comes to find peace and solitude. He came to the dangerous path that venomous snakes inhabit; watching his footing, he came out into the clearing.

He strolled closer, took off his clothes and dived into the lake to cool off and release the tension in his muscles. He glided towards the waterfall and sighed in contentment as the water cascaded down his back. Although the water felt good on his skin and the song of the birds in the trees sounds pleasant to his ear, it still did not stop his anger.

Why should he bring up his Mother in their conversation? He could not keep his thought straight; the memory of their conversation still vexed him. He swam the rest of the way to a big rock and pushed himself up to sit bare buttocks on the rock.

As Fashade grew up, his Father began to talk to him about taking a wife, and it has worsened over time as he became adamant about being a grandfather before he dies. In fact, he sent him all the beautiful girls within the surrounding villages, whose parents are well to do in terms of money and power, but he was and still not attracted to any of them. He prided himself on being a man who does not consider it gallant to buy or take on a wife that will worship the ground he walks on without raising an eyebrow because she wants to please only him and not herself in doing that. He wanted a Lady that is brave, confident and fearless but at the same time has respect, love and kindness for him and the people around. 'I want a woman that is my match,' he once told his old man but his Father thinks he was asking for the moon.

He glides in the water until the moon shone brightly above. He swam the rest of the way to the edge of the lake when he felt calm and collected again. He came out of the lake, water dripping down his naked well-toned body. With the final thought of going to see the blacksmith's daughter, he puts on his clothes and walks back into the woods that are now dark to the village.